BM Catalysts, which makes catalytic converters, DPFs and front pipes reports that it has “further boosted its capacity to supply products throughout Europe in order to meet ongoing demand” The company is currently exporting to more than 35 countries worldwide.
Kerr’s Tyres Group opened its 20th tyre centre in Bangor, County Down on Monday 3 January 2022. The opening of branch number 20 is the latest in a string of announcements in recent years that have “propelled the group’s expansion”. And what’s more, according to an official statement, the organisation aims to announce further expansion plans in the coming months.
Prometeon announced plans to increase production at its Gravatai, Rio Grande du Sul, Brazil at the end of September. According to several local news sources, the expansion plans were announced during a meeting with local Governor Eduardo Leite at the Piratini Palace.
Big Atom has big plans. The circular economy start-up, which already boasts the North West’s second-largest tyre recycling plant, is set to ramp-up capacity at its Ellesmere Port headquarters and has plans for two more additional locations as well as the implementation of its pyrolysis technology in the next year or two.
2021 has been a year of significant strategic developments for the fast-growing Linglong Tire business. On 10 June 2021, Linglong announced plans to invest in a huge tyre manufacturing facility in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, China, which will output a wide range of products including 15.2 million high-performance radial tyres and 500,000 retreaded tyres. That three-phrase project will see construction commence in April 2022 and will be completed in March 2028.
Big Atom is celebrating a major breakthrough in its attempt to “revolutionise” the tyre recycling process after receiving a £350,000 grant from Innovate UK. The clean-tech recycling company, which already boasts the North West’s second largest tyre recycling plant, has been given the cash injection to develop its patented chemical reactor technology, which will convert old waste tyres into new materials.
A 32-million-euro investment in warehousing is taking place at Hankook Tire’s factory in Rácalmás, Hungary. Hankook has already begun building warehouses for the storage of both raw materials and finished tyres and anticipates that the facility will begin operating within a year.
During our recent visit to Magowan’s T&A met with founder Darryl Magowan Snr., Darryl Magowan Jnr, David Magowan and IT manager Ben Tinsley who gave us a guided tour around the bespoke newbuild warehouse and who also explained the thinking that has gone into the project.
Following the news that Formula One Autocentres can now count 124 garages in its growing network after the addition of its Spalding branch on 13 October 2021, company representatives have confirmed that they are aiming to grow the network to at least 135 autocentres by the end of 2022.
In 2017 Daryl Magowan Snr. hatched the plan for a next-generation tyre warehouse and paperless warehouse management system. By 2019 plans were well underway, with the Magowan’s Tyres team cooperating closely with Mike Allen and the software professionals at Cam. Two years later, both the building and its cutting-edge software system are up and running at the bespoke site just outside Belfast. Tyres & Accessories recently toured the site in order to find out more about the warehouse, its software and the significant efficiencies they offer not only Magowan’s but the wider tyre wholesale business.
Yokohama Tire Corporation’s new 430,000 square-foot distribution centre in Wilmer, Texas is now officially open. The facility, which is located 15 miles southeast of Dallas, is LEED-certified, verifying that it’s sustainable building credentials. It will initially be used to distribute Yokohama’s passenger car/light truck tyres, followed by commercial truck/bus products in 2022, according to Rick Alonzo, Yokohama Tire’s vice president of supply chain and logistics.
Kwik Fit has added Bath to its list of target locations for new centres, making it 25 towns and cities that the UK’s largest retail chain is focusing on. At the start of July Kwik Fit said it is looking for “new centres across the country” especially those with “proximity to supermarkets and leisure facilities”.
BM Catalysts
Kerr’s Tyres Group
Big Atom
Sailun
Magowan Tyres
Formula One Autocentres
Formula One Autocentres
Eden Tyres
Chris Anthony, Tyre Industry Publications Ltd
Yokohama
Kwik Fit